Shikkai Restaurant

Shikai boasts one of the best roasted duck in Brunei and the best thing is that it's halal so everyone in Brunei can enjoy their famous roasted duck. They also have a variety of other tasty dishes.



Usually it's common to order crispy deep fried noodles with sauce (cantonese style fried noodles or crispy noodles) but this is something new to me, crispy deep fried kway teow - I really liked the texture of the rice noodles(kway teow) and this is one thing you must try in this restaurant.



Of course - how can you eat at Shikai without trying their roasted duck? We ordered half a Pi Par Duck and they did not disappoint. Crispy skin and succulent duck meat. Hmm....



This is the Kwai Fei Tofu, which translates to Empress Bean Curd. It's tofu that's home made (or restaurant made by them), fried to a crisp on the outside yet has a nice firm jelly texture inside. It's served with minced chicken and salted fish sauce.



The next is a vegetarian dish called Lo Han Chai (Lo Han's vegetarian dish).



We also ordered their black pepper beef. Nicely done - good texture that is not seen in many restaurants who tend to have tough texture.




I like crispy stuff (in fact I used the word a lot of times in this post). Deep fried sotong is one of my favourite things to eat and Shikai's one is good as well.



Overall, it was a pleasant experience and the food was satisfying. Of course, be prepared to wait for your food as during the rush hour, food can be quite slow to arrive but your patience will be rewarded. Give this restaurant a try! You won't be disappointed.

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Savy's Brasserie

Savy's is located opposite Standard Chartered Bank and on top of the old KFC(now an abandoned restaurant) at Bandar. If my friends did not tell me about it, I probably would never get the chance to try it. It's renowned for having great steaks and after my disappointment with Charcoal - I hoped this place would impress me.

The atmosphere at Savy's has this old style European look with brick red walls.

Seating and ready to order

Took two photos without flash. It's not too dark but dim enough to give you the old fashioned romantic candlelight feel.

The fruit in wine glass gives a nice touch as well.

I like their cosy looking white theme for their tablecloth and their lit candles re-enforces the European style settings. The waiters were very polite and greeted us warmly while handing us their red coloured menus.

The menus

Ah... What to order ah? So much choice

The complimentary breads

Balsamic vinegar and spicy oil dip. Slightly sweet, spicy and sour flavoured oil.

The breads were given after we ordered our food. It tasted fresh from the oven warm and the dip has a nice sweet and tangy flavour that goes well with the bread. We ordered three appetizers. I should had used flash when taking the photos, they did not come out very well.

The first appetizer was watercress salad, with sliced red beets, apricots, oranges and almonds. The salad tasted fresh with the citrus flavours and the almonds gave a nice crunch to this appetizer. Thumbs up.

Next comes the chicken liver pate terrine. I must say I was never a fan of livers but decided to give it a try. The bloody aftertaste of liver was not present but instead I was greeted with a strong sesame like flavour of the liver pate - kind of like tasting chicken with peanut butter. Yummy! Thumbs up for this dish as well.

Our final appetizer was stir fried mushrooms sandwiched between two crackers. This one gets my thumbs up as well. Overall the appetizers were pleasant and made me look forward to the steaks we ordered.

I ordered the rib eye with bernaise sauce. The rib eye is properly seasoned and cooked to my liking, I ordered medium. I really like the buttery bernaise sauce.

Beef T-bone Steak. Now that's a huge chunk of cow.

Rib eye with black pepper sauce. Overall the steaks did not disappoint. All cooked to our liking with a slight pink inside. Thumbs up for the steaks.

Beef shanks. The beef shanks were soft and tender, the sauce that comes with it is simply gorgeous. I would definitely order this if I come next time. Thumbs up. Now on to dessert.

Creme Brule. Taste ok but the small portion for such a pricey dessert? Don't think it justifies it. Thumbs down.

Crepes with caramelized bananas and served with chocolate sauce. An alright dessert. No complaints but no praises either. I wouldn't order this again for this price. Thumbs down.

Italian ricotta cheesecake. This I did not really like. It was slightly dry and on the cakey side, rather than the rich custardy texture of a cheesecake. Perhaps this is the way the Italians like it but I certainly did not. Thumbs down.

The wall setting makes a good background for photos

Overall service was pretty good. Waiters would constantly refill our water and made sure we had enough sauce for our steaks. After every course, they would change a new plate for us. The waiters were all very friendly, making the evening enjoyable. Of course, bear in mind that we pay 10% service charge so the service must be good, or they'll piss off the fussy customers like me.

It was quite a pricey dinner but I would certainly come here again. The atmosphere and warm service definitely scores big points for those who want to have a special evening with their loved ones or friends. I will probably spend more on their appetizers and main courses. Their desserts are alright but more on the pricey side and I can't seem to justify that price for their desserts.

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Jin Chiew Kopitiam

You can never be truly Bruneian if you never eaten at Jin Chiew Kopitiam. It is so popular that parking is hard to find. I really like their Roti kahwin kuning. Basically it's fresh baked yellow bread, with a slice of butter and kaya in the centre.

Very rich and tasty breakfast or tea, though not good for your arteries!

They also have freshly baked buttermilk buns and peanut buns which is usually sold out if you are late. I usually go around 2pm to enjoy them.

What you see here is their version of french toast, where they dip their yellow bread and then pan fry them. You can also request to have a sunny side up egg on top of your french toast. Then you put your choice of chili sauce or tomato sauce. Yum~

Last but not least, recently, my friend recommended me to order this, roti kahwin kacang. Instead of only the traditional butter and kaya, they put their chunky peanut filling as well. This is officially one of my favourite things to eat for tea. Too bad it's too fattening but you can always indulge once in a while~

Jin Chiew, always a good place to hang around with friends and chill. Have a nice cup of Teh Tarik India and chew one of those tasty buns, while chatting and laughing with your mates. Good food at cheap prices. A truly special place in the hearts of many Bruneians.

Edited: For those who live overseas and miss those buttermilk buns, one of our very own Bruneian blogger Ihsan has attempted to make some. Here's the link to her buttermilk buns recipe. Give hers a shot!

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Kimchi Restaurant All You Can Eat BBQ

Korean food has not caught up in popularity yet in Brunei but in Australia, it's a big hit! People have yet to actually understand and appreciate Korean food. Recently, I decided to try out Kimchi's All You Can Eat BBQ, their Ramadhan Promotion.

Kimchi restaurant is located at Regency Qlap. If you don't know where that is, it's the same area as Deseo, National Insurance Branch and also the new Excapade Sushi Branch in Qlap.

Kimchi uses nontick hotplates so your food's not likely to stick to the plate while you're cooking.



They also got exhaust on top of all bbq tables to absorb all the smoke and smell from the bbq so you won't walk out of the restaurant smelling like smoked beef.



For appetizers, they have assorted kimchis for you to savour and also two soups



Seaweed Soup



Kimchi Soup



Korean Style Seafood Pancake which goes very well rolled with cabbage kimchi, sliced bbq meats or on it's own. One of my fav things about Korean cuisine!



Place your choice of kimchi or meat on top of pancake



Grab one end with chopsticks



Roll roll~~



Simply sensational! You can be creative and throw in bbq squid or sliced sweet potatoes topped with Korean hot bean paste~ be creative! Create your own pancake roll.



Now on to the stuff to BBQ. They come in 3 different sets. The meat, seafood and vegetables sets. It's all you can eat so you can ask for refill everytime you finish each set.



The first set is the assorted meat set which includes marinated lamb, beef and chicken (in two flavours - spicy and non spicy)



The seafood set consists of marinated squid, prawns, scallops and mussels topped with a cube of butter and lime slices. Hmm...



The vegetables set consists of sliced pumpkins and sweet potatoes, sweet corn and enoki mushrooms.

I like to grill my seafood shell side down

You can eat the BBQ meats on their own but koreans like to wrap their meats with fresh lettuce leaves, sliced onions, shallots or garlic and a little bit (or a lot) of Korean hot bean paste.



Assemble your wrap healthy delicious wrap~



Roll and eat~~ it's really enjoyable. And same with rolling pancakes, you can create your own lettuce wraps! This makes it an enjoyable dinner with family and friends.



They also have an array of desserts for this buffet.



Fresh rockmelon, honeydew and watermelon slices



Patbingsu, which is Korean's version of ABC. Give this a try!



I especially like their smooth Soy Bean Pudding which makes a refreshing ending to all the spicy and tasty Korean BBQ.



If you like Shabu shabu at Ice Bar, you will absolutely love the Korean BBQ experience. The cooking and wrapping of bbq meats with lettuce leaves and seafood pancake is simply enjoyable and fun!

Korean BBQ is $19.80 for adults and $11.80 for children under the age of 12.

For reservations please call:
2222233/7122283

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House of Curry

Roti Canai , Roti Prata or Murtabak; it is one of the staples in Brunei foods you must try. Everytime I have friends coming from overseas, I will surely bring them to my favourite Murtabak store.

The most basic Roti Kosong is probably my favourite. Crispy Croissant like textures and pleasant buttery smell. You won't find this in any other place in Brunei.

R0ti BOM is filled with Susu Manis (Sweetened Condensed Milk). Most of my friends preferred this type. It's Da BOMB! They'll say ;)

Roti Pisang is roti filled with bananas. Ask for the sweetened condensed milk to dip this with. It's simply delish!

Roti Tissue is a thin crepe like roti that is sweet and crispy. You simply 'peel' this mountain and eat the thin crispy sweet roti.

I usually order lamb kurma to dip my roti kosong with. One of my favourite kurma dishes. So next time give this place a try. It is House of Curry which is in the same row as WYWY Lambak, and right next to the KFC. My vote for best murtabak in Brunei.

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Ice Bar & Cafe Shabu Shabu

At the streets of Qlap, a new restaurant called Icebar & Cafe appeared on the first floor at the hotel where Funwok, the hongkong restaurant was located. The restaurant's name showed no hint of what type the restaurant would be. One would wonder if it's a cafe for eating ice like Charmy snow ice or some fancy fine dining restaurant. Instead, it's actually a Shabu Shabu place.

Shabu Shabu means you have your own soup (there are a variety of soups to choose from) and then you cook your food hot pot style. As you can see from the tables, each person has their own individual hot pot. The last time I went to a Shabu Shabu place was in Miri, so let's see how this places does. I did hear many complains that service was quite slow especially when it's packed, so if you're on a rush, definitely not a good place to visit. Fortunately, for me though, the service was not as slow as I expected. My drinks did take some time to arrive though.

You can choose the type of soup you want and then choose your set of food you want to cook with your hotpot.

This is the economy one which is around $8.80. You can choose to have beef slices instead of chicken. I definitely prefer the beef. Basically like a typical price for a steamboat dish per person.

This is the $13.50 beef set, which has more slices of beef. I personally preferred this as I like to quickly cook them slice by slice in the hotpot, dip into the sauce I personally mixed, then eat~ hmm...

You can mix and match from the many ingredients and sauces they have available like a buffet style.

This is my special mix: black bean sauce, sar char sauce, sesame oil, garlic, chives and coriander(daun sup). Mixed well. Great dip!

This is the normal seafood soup. Although the flavours are not strong at first, and I feel that it tastes more like chicken soup than seafood soup, once you cooked a variety of your food in it, it get's better and better! The other soups tend to be overpowering. This soup is only $1.50, and refills are free of charge.

This is the miso soup base. I really liked the flavours of this soup. Would definitely pick this one next time. $2.00 for the soup and $1.00 to refill.

The hot and sour soup is for those who can really take spicy food! One sip of this made my lips and tongue really numb! That's why in Taiwan they call this "MA LA Hotpot" which translates to Numbing Spicy Hot Pot. Definitely an experience for the adventurous ones. $2.00 to order, $1.00 to refill.

I did not take pictures of other types of soups but the Tom Yum and Tomato based soups ($2.00 ) are worth a try as well. I personally tried all of them and if I could rank them, I would prefer the miso followed by tom yum, then seafood soup base. The others are good as well but that's just my preference.

You can separately order your side dishes, such as this lamb here which is $6.00 per plate. I personally felt that this is too expensive for just 8 slices. I hope the management would adjust the pricing. 15 slices would be more appropriate.

The drink Green Tea Calamansi is pretty good and I highly recommend it. However, I wish they would give us complimentary cold water, especially if we're eating the hot and spicy soup bases. If they can give us complimentary sauces, I am sure they should give the customers complimentary iced water, if we order a few drinks from the table. This would greatly improve our overall experience.

Overall, I was impressed that they offer competitive value for most of their menu items. The complimentary sauces and green bean desserts were thumbs up and I hope they will keep this up. What I would suggest is

1) Include wontons and dumplings, or other possible additions to their hotpot menus.
2) Complimentary iced or warm water if the customers order drinks already at the table, to act as a fire hydrant for those spicy soup bases or sauces.
3) Be more generous on the lamb and beef slices when we order separate sets. $6.00 for simply 8 thin slices of lamb is simply ridiculous.
4) I saw some nice ice desserts on their menus which they had not started serving yet but I hope we will get to see these desserts in future. Imagine the sensation of a spoonful of ice cold dessert after all that hot and spicy food. Hmmm....

Once again. Thumbs up for Ice Bar's Shabu shabu and I am sure you will enjoy your experience there. Remember to book beforehand to avoid disappointment!

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Tarindak d Seni Restaurant @ Kota Batu

As a Bruneian, I am very proud of Tarindak restaurant. It is a restaurant that I can proudly recommend to fellow Bruneians and visiting tourists.

Located at the Brunei Handicrafts centre at Kota Batu, this restaurant offers both traditional Malay and International Cuisine but also to showcase local handicrafts and traditional costumes, followed by the great view of Kampung Ayer.

As you can see, the restaurant is spacious and classy. A good place for fine dining or family special occasions. I'll showcase only some of their food, which is a wide variety.

They have an open kitchen which showcases their grilled meats

Their lamb satay is really good. Tender and juicy. Grilled to perfection.

Ah! Gotta be proud of our Ambuyat!

There are also various traditional Malaysian Salads~

Gotta be proud of our local malay kuehs! And you can also see various traditional handicrafts on display too! If only they have Tapak Kuda!

Good food, good ambience and not to mention the great view. After dinner, you can even take a romantic walk with your loved ones at the riverside. My friends who went there said the view's even better during the day where you can see speedboats and the view of the Water Village. Breakfast $8, Lunch $15 and Dinner $22. Ala Carte Menu also available for those on diet.

For more pictures, please visit my facebook album of Tarindak Restaurant
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=99669&id=581271416&l=ffeea6f22f

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